How The Great Leap Forward Devastated China - Stories And Their Importance

A story from my China days that highlights the importance of a narrative and sharing them. Numbers will only go so far in telling a story. Anecdotes are what really matter to solidify what it felt to be present during that time. Here is a story that I heard in elementary school that spurred more stories from others as I got older. China really has come so far since the 60s and the 70s. Leave your comments and let me know if you have any stories from your parents or grandparents from Maoist China.

If you want to read more on this topic, go to the library and search up The Great Leap Forward!
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[maggygraham]

Thank you. I'm reading all the books by Lisa See, and she discusses this history, which is how I stumbled upon your video here. One of the most amazing books I've every read was "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, " by Jung Chang, showing three generations of the women of a family, before, during and after the cultural revolution. If the socialist apologists in the United States right now would truly read history, they might get a clue that the path they are walking down leads to utter chaos and destruction. Today I've been doing a search to see if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is really a follower of Chairman Mao and his little red book. The policies on the left, the Green New Deal, sound so much like reasoning of Mao when he had the farmers plant 10 times as much seeds in one spot because he thought they could produce 10 times the amount of grain, which is one thing that led to the great famine. Farmers knew better, but had no choice. And there were so many equally bizarre requirements during the Great Leap Forward. Everyone in the country was required to melt down anything made of metal, including their pots and pans, because "they wouldn't need them, " because everyone now ate in the collective kitchen. The metal produced was worthless. Absolute craziness, and if anyone complained they were publicly criticized and condemned in "struggle" sessions, many of which ended violently. Mao claimed he was "freeing people from slavery, " but everyone became a slave of the state.

[kqxx]

I kind of wished you talked more about this topic. It’s so interesting!

[josedubois]

I dated a guy who was from the mainland. He went to Harvard Law and from talking with him I found out he studied the communism indoctrination path in high school on the mainland. He then majored in history here in the US and then got into law school.

I never hid my opinion of Mao and the devastation he created with the great leap forward. Or that Mao thanked a Japanese ambassador for the invasion because without it he wouldn't have been able to win the civil war.

[kidthabrawla]

Damnnn China has really come far from back then

[joeycarbonaro]

Hey man do you have a way I can get ahold of you I have lots of questions about this time

[judyheller]

My husband grew up in mainland China. His dad planted a garden so they could have food to eat. He said you could never say anything against the government there.

[wind]

The Chinese arguably went through, suffered, and survived humanity's worse. Not only did they experience history's worst natural disasters but also history's worse wars, famines, and diseases. They really have my utmost respect, just for being such a resilient people, who've not only lived on but also prospered. Now I understand why ancestral worship is so important in Chinese history and culture. The least any one of us can do is pay our respects to those who came before us, especially since they unquestionably had it a lot worse but still survived long enough to continue the lineage.

[Edward-roip]

I took a translation of Chinese literature class and the writings from that time period really show the mindset of the people both praising and being critical of the great leap. As well as watching Serpentza videos, it’s wasn’t the best thing for China longterm.

[skullhoof]

Great Depression as devastating as it was, did not cause any great famine.

[Razear]

Aren't urine and mud a North Korean delicacy?

[Anonymous-iwhx]

jerry you should make a quick video about a part of this famine, when mao told chinese people to kill sparrows, because they would eat up all the seeds of plants, absolutely mind boggeling and it showed how dumbed down people were not to think of the consequences (a year later) which of course made things worse, spoiler alert, these days all sparrows in china are descendants from russian sparrows!

[scabbage]

Man, you don't even know half of it. For any writers, China has the most terrifying/amazing writing material due to the history of those decades. Too bad that few Chinese dare to tell those stories (yet).

[databang]

I wonder if the silly joke "peepee in your coke" has an origin from the Great Leap Forward.

[BolshevikCarpetbagger]

Interesting video. But some of your conclusions are incorrect. The "Great Leap Forward" was the work of one man with absolute power who ignored all logic and the advice of professionals. It was a result of an adventurist economic mismanagement as opposed the collectivization. The Killing Fields is a good film, however the Khmer Rouge who was backed by the United States and China cannot even be remotely described as Communist.

[ronaldmcdonald]

The current crop of social democrats should be careful of Centralized Planning, which they seem to accidentally stumble into. Committees of people telling others what to do. The net result is a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy and expense. In contrast to individuals working hard and taking responsibility for success for failure. To paraphrase Marget Thatcher, the problem with socialism is they eventually run out of other peoples money to spend. The other dark side to be careful of is accidental authoritarianism. I am sure the early communists meant well, but eventually their general policies did not meet the needs of individuals. All sorts of mechanisms were created to suppress these individuals and make them tow the party line. Compare and contrast Hong Kong versus Mainland.

[leelee]

If you ever get a chance, chexk out this graphic novel. I got a copy for my 80y.o. dad who avoided this by fleeing to Taiwan (and my mom to HK)...

[vlvl]

At least those ppl had a very clear goal - find a way to stay alive till tomorrow
This is what we are programmed by evolution . As now we have no problem with food (mostly) people (the brain) have no idea what to do with their lives (have food and home base needs) = lack of motivation and depression

P.s. I would never ever wish that its happend again, just comparing before and now . Seems people take everything for granted

[jxsilicon]

You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Industrial revolution also was a mess. Still dealing with the damage.